The practice round gave him confidence he “could go low,” but reality of just how well he had played didn’t sink in until after he totaled his scorecard.

“I mean I knew I was playing well, but it didn’t feel like I was playing outstanding or anything,” Berry said. “Afterward, it was just surprising how low it was.”

Berry turned to corner from a golfer who was winning league meets to a golfer who could win a title on the second day of last year’s state championship.

He shot 79 on the first day — “pretty much put himself out of contention,” Schimpeler said — and then came back and birdied his first three holes the second day, and shot 70, tied for the lowest score of the day. He finished tied for 13th, but emerged with a bit of confidence to take into this season.

“The second round … made me realize that I can compete with anyone in the state,” Berry said.

Still, Monday, he surprised himself. And his coach.

“Is he capable of coming with low scores?” Schimpeler said. “Yeah, he won a couple of league tournaments for us last year. Yeah, he was certainly capable. But I’m not sure if he showed the potential to go 66.

“He is our leader right now,” the coach added. “He’s kind of carrying us right now. We haven’t had our (Nos.) 2, 3, 4 and 5 golfers step up and provide any help. He’s definitely our leader.”

Neil Devlin, originally from the Philadelphia area, has covered high school sports in Colorado for more than 30 years, writing about the people, athletes and events that encompass the Rocky Mountain prep sports world.